


Where Your Feet Take You

by seventeenspimp (pliable_cedar)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Confessions, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Medical Professionals, humanitarian work, kinda like doctors without borders, nurse practitioner! minghao, optometrist! vernon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 13:54:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15753060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pliable_cedar/pseuds/seventeenspimp
Summary: All his life, Vernon has pretty much let other people make all his decisions for him. But picking up and going on a volunteer trip to Colombia fresh out of med school?That was one decision he made all on his own.





	Where Your Feet Take You

**Author's Note:**

> the idea for a fic like this has honestly been sitting in my head and my notes for about a year and a half.   
> mission/volunteer trips are something very close to my heart, and lots of weird and memorable and even romantic things tend to happen on them, and i wanted to put something like those experiences into fic form.   
> and maybe i also thought minghao would be super hot as a nurse practitioner. you tell me.

Growing up, Vernon had never really given much thought to his future.

At show and tell in elementary school, he’d always followed the other kids’ lead, claiming he wanted to be a firefighter, a scientist, a teacher, the president. In middle school, his teachers told him he had a natural aptitude for science, and he liked his biology classes, so that was the stream he chose to follow.

In high school, his parents praised his high grades, made grand claims about how they could have a doctor in the family, and he wanted to make them proud, so he applied for university as a pre-med student.

It was never something he was particularly passionate about, but he managed the work well, and it sat well with him that a doctor would be a person who could help people, and if he kept going, at least he would be doing something good for the world.

Except, here he was, about to graduate after eight years of studying his ass off, as a doctor of optometry (the one thing in his entire life he’d actually chosen completely for himself), and he had no idea what to do next.

He thinks maybe it’s destiny, then, that he sees the flyer in the admin office on one of his last days as a student. It’s entirely unassuming, words printed in black on the white paper with a pale blue border, pinned among twenty other flyers with arguably better designs, but this particular one still manages to catch his eye.

“Excuse me,” he calls the attention of the lady behind the counter, “do you have any more of these flyers?”

A few moments pass before she looks up from her computer, thinks for a second, then looks back down. Another moment, Vernon standing awkwardly with the strap of his bag pulling down on his shoulder, then she replies, “No, sorry, that’s the only one.”

“Oh, alright. That’s okay, actually, I can just take a picture of it,” he reasons, but she’s not listening to him anymore.

He snaps the picture on his phone and zooms in just to make sure the tiny print with the contact information is still clear. When he sees that it is, he slides his phone back into his pocket and vows to send out an email later tonight.

 

 

~

 

 

 A week or so later, Vernon is sitting on the couch watching reruns of The Powerpuff Girls on cartoon network and eating a bowl of cereal when his roommate, Seungkwan, comes home from work.

He toes off his shoes at the door and scoffs when he takes a look at Vernon, “Are you sure you’re 26 years old? You look more like 16.”

Vernon spoons some more cereal into his mouth before answering. “Cereal is good,” he says, muffled by all the fruit loops stuffed in his cheeks, but Seungkwan has spent too much of his life already listening to Vernon speak with his mouth full for it to be a problem.

Seungkwan rolls his eyes, “Don’t you have work or something? Or anything to do that would make you a productive member of society?”

It’s only when the episode finishes a few moments later that Vernon finally peels his eyes away from the tv, and swallows, “I quit my job.” Seungkwan’s eyes widen at the announcement, and a layer of his attitude falls off. When he doesn’t say anything, though, Vernon continues, “And, about being a productive member of society. Um…maybe you should sit down.”

Seungkwan puts down his bag and gingerly sits at the edge of the couch, way too formally compared to how he usually sprawls. His expression is calm and expectant, Vernon only hopes he’ll take this news well.

“I’m going on a trip, for three weeks,” he begins, pausing to gauge his best friend’s reaction. Seungkwan just nods slowly, waiting for the rest. “Basically, this humanitarian organisation is taking a group of people to Colombia to do, like, medical stuff and construction work too, across a few small towns. And well, I saw the flyer asking for volunteers in the admin office and I emailed them and signed up to be one of the doctors going with them.”

He sucks in a breath when he’s got it all out, and Seungkwan is wearing his wide-eyed expression again. “Wow,” he says.

“Yeah,” Vernon cracks a sheepish smile, “Cool, right?”

“Cool, yes,” Seungkwan starts, slapping his hands onto his thighs like he’s about to tell Vernon that he’d missed something big, and he probably is. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing here, Vern?”

Vernon’s not sure what he means, and Seungkwan seems to sense this.

He exhales a heavy sigh. “This seems like a big deal, Vernon, it’s not a vacation or a little field trip you’re taking here. It’s gonna be living rough, you might not even have a bed to sleep on. You’re probably gonna see some not so nice things.”

“I know it’s not a vacation, Seungkwan, I signed up for it,” Vernon doesn’t want to get angry, but it feels a little to him like Seungkwan doesn’t think he can do this.  

“I’m just trying to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into, is all,” Seungkwan shrugs.

Vernon knows that Seungkwan’s scepticism is natural for him, and it’s just an indication that he’s trying to look out for his friend, but part of him also thinks that Seungkwan, and maybe a lot of people in his life, still sees him as a kid who needs guidance, who doesn’t know what he’s doing or why he’s doing it.

But for once in his life, Vernon thinks he’s doing something good and bold; he himself isn’t one hundred percent certain about his decision yet, but there’s something compelling him towards this, and that’s definitely a new feeling for him.

“I know you are,” Vernon responds.

“I just want what’s best for you, Vern,” Seungkwan says again, more seriously this time.

“I know you do,” Vernon smiles. “I’ve already made up my mind, though. I’m going.”

“Hmm, well look at you,” Seungkwan remarks, chuckling to himself. He stands up from the couch with a crooked grin and a sense of finality. “I guess I should help you pack, then?”

 

 

~

 

 

The next two weeks are a flurry of activity as Vernon (with Seungkwan’s indispensable help) gets ready for his trip. He calls his parents to tell them about his plans, and then his sister, and they’re all thrilled to hear about it, if a little bit shocked.

He goes to a briefing meeting for the volunteers, and they let him know a little bit more of what to expect. There’s a slideshow from previous visits, filled with pictures of the projects they’ve done and the many smiling faces of both volunteers and locals they reached out to, giving an insight to some of the things they’ll do and the places they’ll visit again. It confirms a lot of what Seungkwan had expected, but it doesn’t scare him off.

He meets one of the directors of the trip, Seungcheol Choi, who is also an optometrist, and he gives Vernon a more clear description of what he’ll be doing when they arrive there, along with instantly adopting him as his son-slash-protégé-slash-successor. It’s maybe a lot for a first meeting, but Vernon finds he likes him a lot.

All in all, he leaves with a renewed sense of anticipation, and a packing list.

Then, after that, he’s running around to make sure he has everything he could possibly need, from the solar powered flashlight to the sleeping bag to the box of granola bars, and definitely not forgetting to get maybe 20 pairs of new socks (because the _worst_ thing would be to run out of socks).

By the time he’s gathered it all and managed to squeeze everything into the one suitcase they’re allowed for the trip, he only has about an hour left before he has to be at the airport.

He wheels his suitcase from his room to the front door of their apartment, carry on backpack situated on his back, then he turns around to survey his home and all its comforts one last time.

“Taking one last look in case you die and never come back?” Seungkwan strolls into the room after him, car keys and phone in hand.

“Very funny,” Vernon tries to remain deadpan, but the appearance of his best friend in the middle of his sentimental moment only makes him smile. He’s definitely going to miss him.

“I’ve told you a million times already, Vernon,” Seungkwan starts when he sees the expression Vernon is wearing, slipping into character easily, “I’m _not_ going with you to Colombia, no matter how much you cry and beg.”

Vernon grins, halfway playing along with the soap opera charade, “But Seungkwan, _please-_ ”

“No,” Seungkwan stops him, lifting his hand up and turning his gaze away in one practiced motion. “I told you I would take you to the airport, and _that’s it_. There’s no changing my mind.”

Vernon sighs, long and loud, grabbing the handle of his suitcase and opening the front door. “We better get this over with, then. No sense in prolonging the inevitable.”

He stalks through the door dramatically, not looking back once; he hears Seungkwan bark out a laugh as he follows him out, locking the door behind him.

On the way to the airport, Seungkwan grills him one last time, to make sure Vernon has packed everything, has brought all his documents, has really prepared himself mentally for what he’s about to face. Vernon, for his part, answers dutifully, knowing this is so Seungkwan can put his mind at ease more than anything else. He finds that he himself is strangely relaxed about the entire situation.

They part without much fanfare, Vernon just hops out when they pull up at the curb, and grabs his suitcase from the trunk, offering a last, “See you, man,” to Seungkwan before he’s gone, headed back into town and to work.

The airport is familiar to him, he’s flown out from here many times before, to visit his parents or his sister at university, but his journey today takes him to a wing he’s never been in before. It’s not difficult to find where he’s supposed to go, what with the crowd of thirty or so people in white t-shirts (Vernon himself is wearing one, it’s their uniform, with a little red logo on the chest) milling around a single check-in counter.

He nods in greeting to a few people he’d seen before at the meeting, but for the most part people ignore him as he moves through the crowd and joins the line for check-in. He spends a few seconds scanning through the faces for Seungcheol, but when he doesn’t see him, he just pulls out his phone and sends Seungkwan a text.

“This must be your first time, huh?”

Vernon lifts his head and turns around slowly, and he’s met with the sight of a tall, handsome man standing in line behind him, inquisitive eyes trained on him.

His eyebrows raise when he realises the guy is talking to him. “Me?”

The guy smiles and Vernon swears he can see his eyes sparkle a little. “I’ve never seen you before,” he explains, smile still present, “and honestly you seem a little lost.”

Vernon’s mouth forms a wordless ‘Oh’ as he nods his head slowly in response to the observation. He still can’t think of something to say, but luckily this guy doesn’t seem to notice.

“I’m sorry, let me introduce myself,” he proclaims, as though he had committed some kind of offense. He sticks out a hand to shake Vernon’s, “I’m Mingyu Kim. I’m a contractor, so I work with the construction team on the building projects they do on these trips.”

Before Vernon can reply, he realises the line has moved up, so he takes a moment to gather his words as he shuffles forward. “Vernon Chwe,” he starts, finally accepting Mingyu’s handshake. “I’m, uh, I’m an optometrist, I guess.”

“You guess?” They just met and Vernon can’t believe Mingyu is already making fun of him. He and Seungkwan would get along great.

Vernon laughs a short laugh, half sheepish, half genuine. “Yea, well, I only just graduated so…uh, the title is kinda new.”

“Oh! A med school graduate,” he looks incredibly proud, for some reason, but Vernon can’t say he doesn’t bask in it a little. “Congratulations, dude. We’re all very proud.”

Vernon laughs at the remark, and he’s surprised by how easy Mingyu is making this for him. “Thanks, man, I appreciate it.” He rubs the back of his neck a little nervously before he continues, “And yea, you were right, this is my first time doing something like this, so I guess it makes sense if I seem a little bit lost. But I’m, like, I’m not really scared or anything? I’m actually really excited to do this.”

“That’s really cool, dude,” Mingyu doesn’t get to say anymore, because it’s Vernon’s turn at the counter now. “Oh, the counter’s free, you should-”

Vernon spins around, “Oh! Yea, I’ll just. Okay.”

When his bag is dropped onto the conveyor belt and he’s got his boarding passes, Mingyu catches his eye and asks, “Hey, wait for me, yea?” and Vernon doesn’t really have anyone else to talk to, so he waits to the side, still a ways away from everyone else.

Mingyu doesn’t take long before he’s strutting (honestly, Vernon can’t think of another way to describe it) back over with just his black leather briefcase in hand. “Thanks for waiting,” he offers, not stopping, and Vernon falls into step with him as they walk right into the throng.

“No problem, man,” he returns, and before he loses his momentum, “So, how come I didn’t see you before at the briefing meeting?”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure I was busy that day,” Mingyu pauses for a moment as though thinking. “But this isn’t my first rodeo, and I’m in good enough with the directors that they let it slide.” His face is smug, and Vernon rolls his eyes.

“Ugh, teacher’s pet,” his tone is of mock disgust, and he hopes it’s not too early for a joke like this, “I should’ve known.”

Mingyu’s expression doesn’t change one bit. “Hey, doesn’t matter what names you call me, once I can reap the benefits,” he shrugs.

Just then, another person breaks in to their conversation.

“Vernon! You made it, man, nice to see you,” Seungcheol appears out of nowhere, clapping a hand on Vernon’s shoulder suddenly and scaring the hell out of him.

Mingyu mutters, “Speak of the devil.”

Vernon is still trying to recover and get his heart rate to slow down, but Seungcheol, who is hanging off his shoulder, doesn’t seem to notice. “And Mr. Mingyu Kim!” he proclaims, “I see you’ve met my new protégé.”

“Oh, your protégé, is he?” Mingyu’s tone is coloured with disbelief. “Okay Vernon, be honest, is this man holding you against your will? Blink once for yes,” Vernon doesn’t even mean to, but he supposes his eyes had been getting a little dry, “See, I knew it.”

“Hey,” Seungcheol is almost pouting now, “Don’t hang around with this guy, Vern, he’s a bad egg.”

Vernon cowers a little and replies, “Yes, sir. Please don’t hurt me, sir.” He, of course, breaks into a grin immediately at his own joke, and ducks away from Seungcheol’s swinging arm.

“You rascal!” Seungcheol reprimands, but both he and Mingyu are laughing too. “You’re not as innocent as you make yourself to seem, huh.”

Vernon just keeps grinning and accepts the high five Mingyu is offering him.

“Hey, Cheol, let’s gather up and get everyone’s attention,” a guy (someone Vernon has never seen before) sticks his head into their little circle as he addresses Seungcheol, a hand on his arm and eyes fixed unwaveringly on him.

Vernon’s goofy smile drops instantly, everything about this man tells Vernon he’s a no nonsense kinda guy, from the firm tone of his voice to the perfect polish on his boots. He’s already scared for the day he might step out of line with him.

Seungcheol, unsurprisingly, doesn’t seem fazed by him at all. “Alright, man,” he lets out a chuckle, gestures at the new guy with his head while looking at Vernon and Mingyu, “Duty calls. Talk to you guys later!”

Vernon’s gaze follows the two of them as they weave through the crowd and stop once they’ve gotten to the other side. Seungcheol claps his hands loudly and calls everyone’s attention, and naturally, everyone turns to listen.

“Yo, who is that guy with Seungcheol?” Vernon says under his breath to Mingyu, standing right beside him.

“That’s Minghao Xu,” Mingyu whispers back, leaning down a little. “He’s the other director on this trip.”

“Oh, nice,” Vernon replies, “So, is he like, law enforcement or something? Like, a soldier?”

Mingyu scoffs. “What, Minghao? No way, he just wears those combat boots because they make him look powerful or something.” Seungcheol is saying something and Vernon can tell he’s laughing, but he’s not really listening. Minghao is standing next to him, nodding sagely at everything he says. “He’s one of the medical staff as well, he’s a nurse practitioner, actually. But he started doing these trips before he was even a registered nurse, we used to work on the construction team together.”

“Woah, and he’s a director now?” Vernon says in awe, “That’s crazy awesome.”

“Really is,” Mingyu affirms. Then, Seungcheol finishes what he’s saying and steps back to let Minghao say his piece.

When Minghao starts to speak, Vernon can’t tear his eyes away; there’s something so incredibly compelling about the confidence with which he holds himself when he stands, the tone of his voice as he thanks them for volunteering and briefs them again on their flight itinerary for the day, the way his face is calm and neutral but his eyes seem to light up when he talks about their trip ahead.

“Psst,” Vernon calls Mingyu’s attention again, “How old is he even?”

“Oh, the same age as me, 27,” is Mingyu’s simple reply, but Vernon’s eyes go wide.

So, Minghao was clearly intelligent and hard-working enough to be a registered nurse practitioner at 27, and not only had he been volunteering for humanitarian work long before that, but he must have shown great resolve and commitment as well to be in the position of director right now.

He wraps up his talk and gives a small bow, turning to lead them to the security checkpoint, purpose in his walk and his head held high. Vernon lets out a pained sigh. Minghao is so hot.

 

 

~

 

 

Their first week in Colombia, everything is new, new, new.

So many things are so different that Vernon fears he may have a meltdown just from the overload of _new_ , but at the same time it’s beyond exhilarating. He’s in a new place ( _obviously_ ), with a whole new culture he’s never experienced before; new food, new people, new language. But in a way, too, it’s more than that.

They spend a couple of days in Bogota, doing pop-up clinics in parks or on the streets, and Seungcheol shows him the ropes of the sort of assessments they do. Vernon would like to think he catches on quickly, because it’s not long before Seungcheol leaves him on his own, with only an interpreter by his side to help him out.

After Bogota, they spend the rest of the week in a small town a few hours away. They only do clinics on the first day, so for the other days, while a handful of more experienced medical staff makes house calls, Vernon is reassigned to help the construction team with their project of rebuilding the torn down community centre. Since he doesn’t have any training in that area, he just does whatever Mingyu tells him to, mostly menial tasks that require little skill (like lugging bricks, or buckets of mortar, or sheets of galvanised iron).

It’s more physical labour than he’s done since he started university, and it feels good to put his body to use without having to think too hard about anything, for once.

There’s also a few men and women from the town who come to help them, mixing cement and laying bricks, and bringing pots of food that they prepared at home to share with the foreigners. During their breaks from work Vernon loves sitting with them to eat and talk, getting them to even teach him some Spanish here and there (they always laugh at his terrible pronunciation, but he knows it’s in good fun).

He finds that every day he learns to do things he’s never done before, and he sees life lived in a way that’s so much different to what he’s always known.

Maybe, at first, he thought he would see so much poverty and sickness that it would break his heart, and while there was no shortage of those things, he also sees that people here still live their lives, day to day, never wasting time on feeling sorry for themselves for what they lack, and never losing an opportunity to give from what little they have.

By the second week, he thinks he’s fallen into the rhythm of things quite well. He learns as much as he can from the other people in the group of volunteers and sticks close to the ones he feels most comfortable with.

There’s Mingyu, who has proven to be very kind and accommodating of Vernon’s inexperience; he reminds Vernon so much of Seungkwan, sometimes, so it makes it easy for Vernon to talk and laugh and exist with him.

He also befriends Joshua Hong, one of the interpreters on their team who was assigned to him at the clinic; he’s funny and good at conversation, so he’s a big help to Vernon, especially when it comes to meeting and getting to know new Spanish speaking people.

Seungcheol, the dad friend that he is, always makes sure Vernon knows what’s going on and constantly checks up on him to make sure he’s alright, physically and emotionally. He maybe hangs over Vernon a little too much sometimes, but his presence is always reassuring.

And then there’s Minghao.

Vernon still hasn’t managed to have anything more than short, polite conversations with him, despite how hard he tries and how much he wants to. Minghao is always on the move, busy with orchestrating all their events, making sure everything and everyone is in order and functioning properly. The few times when things seem to slow down a little, usually during meals or at night, he’s either surrounded by a small crowd of people or otherwise disappears completely, and Vernon misses another chance.

But, despite not having spoken to him, he seems to have captured Vernon’s attention entirely, and everything Vernon notices about him just makes him want to get to know Minghao more.

He learns very early, and to his great anguish, that Minghao is fluent in Spanish; from the first day they landed in Colombia, he was talking to their bus driver and making phone calls, Vernon had to double check that it really was him and not a native standing in the same vicinity. Later, Mingyu tells him that Minghao picked up the language after they started doing more work in South America, said he learned in about six months.

Vernon earnestly wishes for death.

The next blow comes the first time they have clinic together (along with ten other people), and Vernon sees that on top of being organised and fastidious, and being able to communicate flawlessly with the locals, Minghao is also incredibly caring and gentle.

Vernon watches him from the opposite end of their tent, and no matter how many people come through or how tired he might be, he speaks to each of them softly but assuredly, chatting and even making jokes (Vernon thinks, he doesn’t know what they’re saying) to make them more comfortable. Almost every single person walks away afterwards with a smile, some shake his hand or offer him a gift, and one or two actually hug him.

Minghao, for his part, looks absolutely thrilled to see everyone, and says goodbye to each of them with the same fervour. Vernon feels his own heart grow three sizes bigger, vows to make a greater effort to be warmer to the people he sees at his own station.

So, essentially, after the first two weeks have passed, Vernon has a raging heart boner (and almost definitely a real one too) for Minghao, and still has had no opportunities to even make himself known to the guy.

Until one day, when the universe decides to finally give him a break.

 

It’s Friday, the second one since they’ve been in Colombia, and their medical team has been split into two, one group doing a clinic in a park plaza, and the other setting up at the market on the other end of town. Seungcheol, who is leading the plaza group, tells Vernon that since he knows the run down by now, that he should go with the others and run the vision testing over there.

Since Minghao is leading the market group, Vernon is all too happy to oblige.

They’ve only got two tables and a tent to squeeze under, so they use one for receiving people and taking their basic health information, and Minghao and Vernon set up their respective stations on either end of the second table. Luckily, Vernon has a stand for the eye charts that he places on the other end of the tent, but he still has to sit closer to Minghao than he ever has before, and the thought alone makes his palms sweat.

As the morning passes, dozens of people come through their little tent, and they’re kept busy with their work, Joshua at Vernon’s side interpreting for him as usual, while Minghao handles himself and the other nurse with him.

“Hey, Vernon,” Minghao speaks up, startling Vernon. The last time he checked, Minghao had his head down sorting through the information cards on his side, but now he’s leaning over, his wide, blinking eyes fixed on Vernon. “Is everything alright?”

Vernon also realises that Josh isn’t next to him anymore and that the flow of people in the clinic has slowed down to none. He must’ve been really zoned out.

“Yea, I’m fine!” he blurts out, hurriedly trying to reassure Minghao and erase the look of concern from his face. “I just zoned out for a second.”

Minghao’s lips quirk up at the corners and he leans back in his chair. “You’ve been staring at the ground for five full minutes now,” he comments, amusement in his tone, and Vernon can’t believe even Minghao is making fun of him. Maybe that’s just his life now.

“Oh, wow, really?” he laughs nervously, hoping to just brush it off. After all this time of wishing for Minghao’s attention, now that he has it he doesn’t think he’s getting off to the best start. “I think I might just be a little tired, is all.”

Minghao nods in understanding, lips pressed together thoughtfully. Vernon’s gaze catches on his long neck, and his jaw, and his glittering eyes, and he feels he should probably just go back to staring at the floor.

“It’s always around this point of the trip that all the fatigue starts to catch up to you,” he says, clicking the pen in his hand. “Have you been sleeping okay? Mingyu’s your roommate, right?”

“Yea, he is,” Vernon is shocked that he even knows that, but perhaps he really does know everything that’s going on with his team on the trip. “And it’s been alright. We should probably sleep a little more than we do, but there’s just so much to talk about.”

Minghao lets out a short laugh, and Vernon’s heart stops a second, like the fool he is. “Yea, Mingyu is a really fun guy. But you know if you don’t get some more sleep you’ll probably get sick.”

He pulls a scrap piece of paper from the desk and starts drawing something on it; though Vernon can’t see what it is from where he’s sitting, he thinks it’s charming the way Minghao has to keep sweeping his hair out of his eyes.

He glances up for a second at Vernon, and gestures to the empty chair near him that’s reserved for the patient he’s seeing. “Hey, come over here.”

“Shouldn’t we be watching our stations?” Vernon questions, but he moves anyway.

This time, when Minghao looks up at him, he’s so close that Vernon can see his eyelashes, and he already regrets moving chairs. “Look around, Vernon. No one comes to the market in the afternoon,” and well, he’s right. “Besides, I’m going to start losing my mind from boredom soon so,” at that, he slides the piece of paper towards Vernon, who can now see that he was drawing little dots all over it, and Vernon definitely recognises the game. “You first.”

“You _bored_? I never thought I would see the day,” Vernon mutters as he takes the pen and draws the first line.

“What was that?” Minghao asks, and Vernon freezes.

“Uh, I-”

“Minghao, Vernon,” he’s saved by Joshua, who comes up to them followed by the rest of their crew. “There’s a restaurant down the street that this vendor told us about, we’re thinking about getting some food there.”

Minghao waves a hand at them dismissively, “Sure, go ahead. Vern and I will stay here and hold down the fort.” Then he looks at Vernon, “That’s cool, right?”

“Y-yea, sure. Def-definitely,” he stutters out, still in shock both at Minghao wanting to stay with him, and also being called ‘Vern’.

Joshua makes eye contact with him and smirks. “Okay, great. We’ll bring back something for you guys, don’t worry. Have fun!”

When the others are gone, they play back and forth in silence for a while; Vernon keeps trying to build the courage to say something, but once again, when the silence is broken, it’s Minghao who does it.

“So, how has the trip been for you so far?” he asks, not even looking up as he takes his turn.

Vernon takes a deep breath before he answers; this is his chance to not sound like a complete moron.

“I’ve really, _really_ been enjoying it. A lot of it isn’t what I expected, but I think maybe that’s because it’s even better.” Minghao lifts his head to look at him, focusing entirely on what he’s saying. “It’s like, you think you’re gonna come here and help people and change lives, and we definitely do, which is amazing. But I feel more than anything that my own life is changing.”

He meets Minghao’s eyes and his brain sputters to a stop, but Minghao smiles anyway, soft and sweet. “That’s what it was like for me too. You can never really see the world the same way again.” Vernon mimics his smile and nods in affirmation, his heart rate picking up a little. “Do you think you’ll do it again?”

“Absolutely,” Vernon exhales heavily, and his fingers feel a little numb at what he’s about to say, “I’ve never felt so alive before, you know? After all the time I spent in school not really thinking about what’s the point of everything I was working towards. It’s like I’ve finally found something I really care about, something really worthwhile. I don’t think I could do anything else for the rest of my life but this, honestly.”

There’s a breath of silence before Minghao chuckles, light and airy, “You’re not saying that just to charm me, are you?”

Vernon nearly chokes on the air. “Excuse me?”

Minghao chuckles yet again, but when he speaks, his tone is more serious, “You’re a really great guy, Vernon. You’re funny and really friendly, and everyone who meets you likes you instantly. And you’re really good at what you do, you work hard, you’re reliable and you can adapt well to every situation, and I admire that.” Vernon is almost certain his chest is going to explode, but Minghao holds his gaze until he’s done. “It’s been a great asset to have you as part of our team, and I think I speak for everyone when I say we’d be more than happy to see your face around more often.”

“Oh, I see. Um, thank you, Minghao,” is what Vernon manages to get out, and Minghao just beams.

“I’m just being honest,” he brushes it off, finally looking back to their game of dots to tally up the score. “I win!” he exclaims, and it’s so cute that Vernon really, strongly wishes for death.

“Those guys are taking a really long time to get back,” Minghao is speaking quite quickly, voice more tense than before, and Vernon thinks he might get whiplash the way he’s jumping from topic to topic. If he didn’t know any better, he would think Minghao was nervous. “What should we do now? Tic tac toe? Hangman?”

Then an idea strikes him.

“Oh, you should let me take your blood sugar!”

At that moment, Vernon thinks he starts to go into cardiac arrest.

“No, no, that’s fine, I’m good,” he rushes out, but Minghao is already putting on a fresh pair of gloves. “You don’t have to waste your stuff on me.”

“Come on,” Minghao pushes, cleaning off the device as he speaks. “When was the last time you checked your sugar levels? You must be curious.”

“I’m in peak health, I swear to you.”

Minghao stops and grins wickedly, “You’re scared aren’t you.” Vernon’s silence comes as confirmation, and Minghao barks out a loud laugh. “You’re a doctor! Didn’t you have to do medicals every year?”

“Yes, and I hated it every time,” Vernon is really trying to get him to understand how much he does not want to do this, but Minghao is so excited he can already feel himself giving in.

“Come on, it’ll be fine,” Minghao reassures, sliding in the stick and sitting down. When Minghao takes his hand to clean it off, the touch is so gentle, and his blood pressure shoots so high that he’s sure he’ll bleed out as soon as he’s pricked. “Can you calm down? I can feel your pulse through your finger. It’ll be _fine_.”

“I’m really trying my very best,” Vernon manages to bite out, but his head is spinning from the sheer anxiety of not knowing when it’ll happen but definitely knowing how much it’ll fucking hurt.

Minghao smiles at him, fondly exasperated, and Vernon wonders if he’s allowed to do that after they’ve only had one conversation. He sucks in a breath, but it does nothing to help, because the pain comes then, fast and sharp and out of nowhere.

He barely has time to exclaim, “Fuck!” before he passes out.

 

 

~

 

 

The first thing he sees when he opens his eyes is blinding white light. He groans and blinks a few times, eyes adjusting to the brightness.

The second thing he sees is something grey and metal, which he quickly realises is the roof of their bus. So, that’s where he is, he’s laying across the long backseat of their bus.

The third thing he sees, and by far the most unsettling, is Minghao’s face coming to hover over him, a tight expression of worry quickly smoothing into one of relief when he realises Vernon is waking up.

“You’re awake, thank god,” he breathes out, a little more than a whisper.

“How long was I out for?” Vernon manages, voice cracking a little.

“Not long, around half an hour,” Minghao informs him, stooping on the floor to be closer to Vernon. “You really scared me there, Vernon.”

“I’m sorry,” is his instant response, but he follows up with, “Um, what exactly happened?”

“You fainted when I was taking your blood sugar,” he recounts, and yes, Vernon does remember that. Minghao continues, “Turns out your blood sugar level was really low. Someone hasn’t been eating properly.”

“Yea, that’s…” Vernon starts, but he can’t think of a valid excuse to give, and the way Minghao is staring at him throws him off anyway. “Can I sit up?”

“Yea, sure, let me-” Minghao reaches over to help Vernon right himself, then hands him a bottle of water and a granola bar. “Here, you need these.”

Vernon nods, and as he opens the wrapper and munches down the snack, Minghao moves to sit next to him in the now empty space. He’s still a little light headed, but when he’s finished up he feels a lot better.

“Better?” Minghao asks, and Vernon just nods again with a smile. It’s funny, but now he feels so relaxed, and he wonders if all his anxiety was just because of the lack of food in his body.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Minghao smiles back at him, his eyes disappearing as he does, and it’s another smile Vernon is seeing for the first time. He tries to think of how many different ones Minghao has. “You know, is it kinda weird that I thought you were acting so strange back there because I make you nervous?”

“Is it?” Vernon replies, and maybe he smirks a little. “I guess I could ask you the same thing.”

Minghao pauses, sighs. “I meant what I said, Vernon, you _are_ a really great guy, and everybody here likes you a lot,” he smiles at him then, “Especially me.”

Vernon looks up towards the sky, “I must be dreaming.”

“Nope, and I’m still right here,” Minghao responds, laughing when Vernon gives him an offended look. “Anyway, get up, let’s go.”

“Uh, where are we going,” he questions, but as is his nature, he’s already standing and following Minghao back out of the bus.

“I’m taking you to dinner,” Minghao states plainly, and Vernon stops in his tracks.

“What?”

Minghao laughs at him, the loud laugh again, and grabs Vernon’s hand to pull him along. “How are you so easy mess with,” he jokes, before explaining, “We have to go eat, Vernon, neither of us have as yet, and all the others are back at the tent. I really can’t deal with you fainting on me again.”

“Oh,” is what Vernon has to say in response, “Right, I knew that.”

Minghao just rolls his eyes fondly and continues to pull him along.

 

**Author's Note:**

> okay so here's the looooooong end note.
> 
> the first mingsol ficfest!!   
> this had seemed like such a huge undertaking maybe eight months ago, i can't believe we've gotten to this point already, but here we are! and the fics are trickling in slowly, but it's so lovely to see something like this really happening for mingsol. and i finally get to say i've contributed to the tag for one of my absolute favourite pairings.
> 
> thank you to:  
> -all the writers who chose to participate! it means a lot that you would dedicate your time and talent to this venture, and i can't wait to read all your works (and thank you for reading mine)  
> -domi! my dear friend who i roped into this mingsol mess with me, i'm glad i have you to bounce ideas with and to keep a steady flow of mingsol content in my life, your presence alone throughout this has been a great motivation to me to finish this damn fic and to actually come to enjoy writing and mingsol again  
> -emily! my partner in putting together and executing this whole thing, you've been so helpful and fun to talk to, and it was your writing in the first place that made me fall in love with this pair. i knew that i couldn't embark on any kind of mingsol project without having you involved, and i'm grateful that i did have you to lean on. to the future and more good stuff and friendship!  
> -tessa! who was literally there to hear this idea the moment i first had it in february of 2017, when it bounced around different pairs, and shifted and warped until the very end, and being the first to see it in its final shape. your input is always invaluable to me, and you've inspired me in so many ways to be a better writer  
> -the readers! you guys are what makes this thing tick, and if you've gotten here, then thank you so much for giving this little work a little of your time. please, don't be afraid to give feedback and let me know what you liked and didn't, and i hope you enjoyed enough to read more of my writing some other time :) (and to check out the other works in this collection)
> 
> if you want to chat more i'm on twitter @seventeenspimp !! thank you once again <3


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